First

 

Sunday night I headed into downtown Hamp, where a crowd had already formed on King Street for the ceremonial community celebration of the new year. When I arrived around 11:30pm a lively crowd had already formed. 

 

 

Unfortunately, so had a large number of protesters against the Israeli-Gaza war, complete with fake body bags meant to symbolize Palestinian deaths. 

 

As a First Amendment absolutist and good government advocate, I am always pleased on some level to see citizens speaking out and engaging in the political process. I feel this way even when the activism is taking place on behalf of issues about which I disagree, as I do on this controversy. 

Frankly, these protests confuse me. What exactly do the protesters want? The Palestinians of Gaza have suffered many years under the cruel dictatorship of Hamas. Israel is now in the process of liberating Gaza from Hamas control, thereby freeing the Palestinians and clearing the way to a brighter future for the entire region. 

A cease fire would short-circuit Israel's efforts to liberate Gaza, leaving the Hamas oppressors still in power. How can that be the right solution? Those who want peace and who sympathize with the civilians inadvertently killed as part of the liberation process should be protesting instead the refusal of Hamas to unconditionally surrender. They should also be urging Israel to redouble its military efforts in order to obtain total victory as quickly as possible and thereby end the bloodshed and free the people of Gaza. 

I think the Hamp New Years protesters also made a tactical error. They were very noisy, so much so that at some points you couldn't hear the festive music that was being played over load speakers to accompany the occasion. As midnight approached protesters with bullhorns were mindlessly chanting "Let Gaza Live" over and over again. 

The racket clearly annoyed a lot of people in the audience, and several times I heard people in the crowd shouting, "Shut up!" and even a few wails of "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" I suspect that the protesters, through their disruptive conduct, may have hurt their cause more than helped it.

Oh well, none of that nonsense prevented the crowd from joyously singing, laughing and dancing with delight as the hour struck midnight and the scene exploded into psychedelic colors. 

 

 

 I think this is going to be a great year.

 

 

Overseeing the New Year festivities from his courthouse perch was Silent Cal. No matter what goes down, he never expresses an opinion.

But I don't think he liked it back in 2009 when some prankster turned him into Hitler. 

 

 

2024 marks the end of the centennial year of the Coolidge presidency, which was celebrated all year with exhibits and events at the Forbes Library. 

Words of presidential wisdom. 

 

A Christmas tree in Springfield's Union Station.  photo by b. mass

In Boston this week they unveiled the official portrait of former Governor Charlie Baker that will hang for eternity in the statehouse along with the portraits of all the other former governors. An interesting detail is that a cellphone is shown sitting on the Governor's desk, the first time a computer has appeared in a gubernatorial portrait. No doubt a dark snicker could be heard from the depths of AI.

Poor Turtleboy.